LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - A census taker found hanging from a tree
had named his son as his life insurance beneficiary, and
investigators are looking into whether the father manipulated the
death scene to make a claim possible, law enforcement officials
told The Associated Press Thursday.
In an interview with AP, Josh Sparkman said he found paperwork
for the private life insurance policy among his father's personal
files but wasn't sure of the amount or when it was taken out. He
said authorities have told him nothing about the case or produced a
death certificate, which is usually needed to make an insurance
claim.
Two law enforcement sources, who spoke to AP on condition of
anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the case, said
investigators are trying to determine if Bill Sparkman committed
suicide but altered the scene to make it look like a homicide,
allowing his son to collect. Life insurance policies typically do
not cover suicides within a certain period of time after the policy
starts.
Josh Sparkman said he is convinced his father was slain, in part
because there were several items missing and apparently stolen from
his car.
"If it's deemed suicide, there's no point in even looking at
insurance," Josh Sparkman said. "There's no such thing as suicide
insurance. The money is not the concern. I just want to know what
happened to my dad."
Sparkman's naked body was found Sept. 12 near a family cemetery
in a heavily wooded area of southeastern Kentucky. One of the
witnesses who found the body said the 51-year-old was bound with
duct tape, gagged and had an identification badge taped to his
neck. Authorities have confirmed "Fed" was written on his chest
likely in pen.
Josh Sparkman, 20, who is unemployed, said he's convinced his
father could not have committed suicide, even though law
enforcement officials previously told the AP on condition of
anonymity that they are looking closely at that possibility and
increasingly doubt he was killed because of his government job.
There were no defensive wounds on Sparkman's body, and while his
hands were bound with duct-tape, they were still somewhat mobile,
suggesting he could have manipulated the rope, the officials said.
Sparkman was found hanging from the tree yet in contact with the
ground. Homicide, suicide and an accident were all being considered
as a manner of death, authorities said.
Kentucky State Police Capt. Lisa Rudzinski declined to comment
on whether a life insurance policy connection was being probed. She
said investigators still have not determined the manner of death
and were still awaiting forensic tests.
Josh Sparkman said he also received a letter from the census
about how to collect his father's final payroll check and
information about death compensation the government might owe him.
"It's not much, nothing substantial," he said. "It's not like
it's enough to pay off the house or anything."
Because he was a census employee, Bill Sparkman's family would
be eligible for up to $10,000 in death gratuity payments if he was
killed in the line of duty, according to the U.S. Office of
Personnel Management. He was not eligible for a separate life
insurance policy through the government because his census work was
intermittent, Census Bureau spokesman Stephen Buckner said.
Sparkman said his father last updated his will in 1993, listing
Josh as the heir to the estate, including the London, Ky., home
valued at $80,000, according to Laurel County property records.
Friends chipped in to help gather money for him to make one monthly
mortgage check, but Sparkman said he remains behind on other
payments.
"My dad never really cared about material things," he said.
"It's not what mattered to him. His friends, his family - that's
the kind of stuff you care about. He would do without to see
someone in his family do better."
The son said he noticed no changes in his father in the weeks
before his death that would suggest he was upset about anything. In
their final phone conversation, his father mentioned he was still
trying to land a full-time teaching job but remained upbeat, he
said.
Police have declined to comment about any of the items removed
from Sparkman's car except the census computer, which was not found
although its case was.
---
Barrett reported from Washington. Hope Yen in Washington
contributed to this report.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

AP-NY-11-12-09 2131EST